Vitamin C: The Carnivore Death Spiral
The dominant theory of carnivore diet regarding Vitamin C seems to be that 1) Vit C competes with carbohydrate so you need much less (by orders of magnitude) when you cut out carbs completely and 2) Fresh meat has some Vitamin C.
I think carnivores fall into a vitamin C trap one of a few ways:
1) Eating meat which has had the Vitamin C denatured, such as cooked jerky or fully cooked sausages.
2) Eating "animal-based" foods like honey (which has a ton of sugar and only a tiny sliver of Vitamin C. I think this is why Paul Saladino went from carnivore -> carnivore + honey -> carnivore + honey + fruit.
3) Eating processed meats which have had sugar added, such as lunch meats, jerky or sausages.
4) Eating sugar-containing dairy like plain yogurt, cheese, and milk, especially if pastuerized (denaturing any Vit C).
5) Occasional cheating with sushi rice, "keto" candy, or other carbs. I find this particularly easy to do since I regularly meet my adult family for meals at restaurants.
I think the human desire for sweetness is at least partially a pursuit of Vitamin C.
I believe I'd become deficient in Vit C due to a combination of the above factors, and I'm now making an effort to 1) do a one-time load of C with kiwi fruit, 2) cut out any remaining carbs from my diet going forward and 3) if I do "cheat" in the future, focus on doing so with fresh fruit or eating some high-C fruits to offset the carb impact.
asourcefamiliarwiththematter / a source familiar with the matter
npub17k…mhcd0
2023-10-15 15:23:17
Author Public Key
npub17k64766yhzvhk2mws356dftl35lnkthjwq34gdz9cs8va3y9aejqwmhcd0Published at
2023-10-15 15:23:17Event JSON
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"content": "Vitamin C: The Carnivore Death Spiral\n\nThe dominant theory of carnivore diet regarding Vitamin C seems to be that 1) Vit C competes with carbohydrate so you need much less (by orders of magnitude) when you cut out carbs completely and 2) Fresh meat has some Vitamin C.\n\nI think carnivores fall into a vitamin C trap one of a few ways:\n1) Eating meat which has had the Vitamin C denatured, such as cooked jerky or fully cooked sausages.\n2) Eating \"animal-based\" foods like honey (which has a ton of sugar and only a tiny sliver of Vitamin C. I think this is why Paul Saladino went from carnivore -\u003e carnivore + honey -\u003e carnivore + honey + fruit.\n3) Eating processed meats which have had sugar added, such as lunch meats, jerky or sausages.\n4) Eating sugar-containing dairy like plain yogurt, cheese, and milk, especially if pastuerized (denaturing any Vit C).\n5) Occasional cheating with sushi rice, \"keto\" candy, or other carbs. I find this particularly easy to do since I regularly meet my adult family for meals at restaurants.\n\nI think the human desire for sweetness is at least partially a pursuit of Vitamin C.\n\nI believe I'd become deficient in Vit C due to a combination of the above factors, and I'm now making an effort to 1) do a one-time load of C with kiwi fruit, 2) cut out any remaining carbs from my diet going forward and 3) if I do \"cheat\" in the future, focus on doing so with fresh fruit or eating some high-C fruits to offset the carb impact.",
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